


#TRMDTacky

by soapsuds



Category: My Kontrabida Girl, The Rich Man's Daughter (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-28
Updated: 2015-09-06
Packaged: 2018-04-06 13:19:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4223238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapsuds/pseuds/soapsuds
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jade gets amnesia and wakes up as the super-gay version of Isabel from My Kontrabida Girl. Althea is not quite ready for this level of thirst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Jade Doe

**Author's Note:**

> Just covering the amnesia and evil alter-ego soap tropes for TRMD here, and trying to be as tacky as possible! However, it’s kinda difficult to surpass the tackiness of a dog being named after a missing child though and Jade's missing brain cells, lol. So please give me some more Pinoy telenovela ideas! (see author's notes at the end)
> 
> Warning: I stopped watching My Kontrabida Girl after Bella Flores showed up and all I know about Heidi is the fork gif. Yep, “research” is not my middle name ;-)
> 
> Also, I am typing this out carelessly in between work, commuting and other chores, and am terribly inconsistent when it comes to correct punctuation and tenses. Also, my Tagalog is rusty, I have not been home in years(so basically, I’m screwing up 2 languages with one stone, lol). 
> 
> TL;DR: If you care about quality and all that shite, this fic will hurt your eyes :-)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Anyone could say it was almost inevitable. Being constantly chased by her father’s goons. Having to run and hide at every opportunity. The lawless and chaotic Manila traffic. Yes, the inevitable car crash that leads to… (dun dun dun) AMNESIA. In her last few moments of consciousness, Jade looks at Althea’s already unconscious form in the wreckage they were trapped in.

Oscar’s goons had really gone overboard this time with the car chase. The attempt to run them off the road resulted in an 18 pile car crash! Jade tries to ignore the pain spreading all over her body and reaches across to hold Althea’s hand. She grasps it tightly and silently vows to be stronger for the next round of this battle. No one will ever hurt Althea like this again. She closes her eyes as she finally passes out, with one last thought in her head.

“Maghanda kayong lahat!” (translation: “You better watch out, everyone!”)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As soon as news of the car wreck hits the news, Oscar orders another batch of his goons to rush to the hospital. Knowing that both women were now in coma, he wanted to seize the opportunity to separate them once and for all and ship Jade off to the mainland! The goons threaten the doctors and nurses with guns,then wheel Jade’s unconscious form out of the hospital and into their van.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Paul ducks and weaves in his scooter to catch up to the speeding van. Where were they taking his sister?! He had just arrived at the hospital when a bunch of shaken doctors and nurses hurriedly pointed him towards a van.

Batchi and Wila immediately clicked onto what was going on and jumped into Batchi's Subaru. The queer trio pursued the van relentlessly and the van’s driver suddenly realized that they would soon catch up to him in the next stoplight. **(author’s note:** it’s Manila traffic, let’s be real! anyone could have caught up to this driver just by walking)

The two-bit goon was so busy looking out at his side mirror for angry gays that he totally missed the black limo right in front of him. He crashes right into it! Which brings us to 2 car crashes in less than a day and car dealers everywhere celebrating.

The driver gulps as the limo’s angry, burly driver steps out, followed by several equally angry, burly bodyguards. He almost pisses his pants in fear when the limo’s owner finally steps out… it’s Bella Flores! And whoops, her fury mode is activated.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bella stomps over to the van and demands her bodyguards to drag the driver out. She immediately slaps him. “Hoy! Bulag ka ba?! Tingnan mo ang ginawa mo sa limo ko!!” (translation: “Oi! Are you blind?! Look what you did to my limo!”)

“S-sorry po! Nagmamadali lang po kami sa airport!” (translation: “S-sorry! We were just hurrying to the airport!”)

“Hmmph, ang sabihin mo, nagmamadali ka sa sementeryo! Muntik mo na kaming mapatay lahat! Idedemanda ko kayo! Nasaan ang amo niyo!?” (translation: “Hmmph, you mean you were hurrying to the cemetery! You almost killed us all! I will sue you! Where’s your boss?!”)

The driver is quaking in his shoes and refuses to answer. He would be in so much deep shit with Mr Tanchingco if this got on the news!

Bella is irritated by the man’s silence and snaps her fingers at her bodyguards to open the rest of the van’s doors.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

An otherworldy shriek from the renowned kontrabida actress drew a sizeable crowd to the scene. Upon seeing an unconscious woman at the back of the van and guilty-looking goons for hire, Bella immediately assumes the worst. The crowd catches a glimpse of what Bella sees and they are equally outraged.

“Mga walanghiya! Guards! Bugbogin nyo an maga hayop na ‘to!”. (translation: "You bastards! Guards! Beat up these filthy animals!")

Bella snaps her fingers and her bodyguards rush to drag Oscar’s goons out of the van and begin beating them into a pulp to the cheers and encouragement of the crowd.

Bella orders 2 more of her guards to gently lift Jade out of the van and into her limousine.

“Kawawa ka naman, muntik ka nang mapagsamantalahan if I hadn’t come to your rescue! Naku, I deserve an award for this talaga! Sino ka kaya? Ang ganda ganda mo pa naman! Parang kahawig ko!” (translation: "You poor thing, you almost got taken advantage of if I hadn't come to your rescue! Gosh, I deserve an award for this! I wonder who you are? You're so pretty! You look like me!")

The 2 bodyguards in the limousine look back and forth between Jade’s beautiful, angelic face and Bella’s sharp, villainous features. They hide their grimace and disbelief, and start nodding fervently in agreement with Bella.  
“Opo m’am! Siguro in another life, baka anak mo siya!”. (translation: Yes m'am! In another life, she was probably your child!")

The guard subtly elbows his co-worker next to him who gulps and chimes in with his own white lie.  
“Oo nga, m’am! Pero… mas maganda po kayo!” (translation: "Yes, m'am, I agree! But... you're more prettier!")

Bella preens and bats her eyelashes appreciatively at her sycophant guards, then turns back to the unconscious woman. “Oh Jane Doe, sana nga naging anak na kita! Hindi ka na sana nabagsak sa malas!” *cough foreshadowing cough*  
(translation: “Oh Jane Doe! If only you had been my child! You would not have fallen into misfortune!”)  
She orders her driver to take them the private hospital where she has her own private wing thanks to her many generous donations.

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

A week passes at the private ICU room Bella had requested Jade to be placed in. Bella visits once a day to harass the doctors and demand when the sleeping beauty is waking up. A bevy of guards and maids follow her, just as eager to solve the mystery of the sleeping beauty.

Bella sits in a grand leather armchair she had demanded hospital employees to bring in for her. As if she would sit in a flimsy plastic chair in the waiting room!

She has her maids fanning her while another one is doing her nails. The nurses had long since found out that reminding Bella about ICU room restrictions only resulted in their faces getting slapped.

Jade stirs in her bed slightly and everyone stops talking as they notice the movement. Her eyes slowly open, fairytale princess style. She looks slowly around the stunned faces in the room and struggles to speak.

Before Jade can say anything, Bella stands up from her chair and slowly approaches her.

“Sino ka ba, hija? Naalala mo ba kung ano ang nangyari so ‘yo?” (translation: “Who are you, dear? Do you remember what happened to you?”)

Jade opens her mouth but is stuck for words. What was her name?? She tries to dig deep into her mind but only flashes of light and colours resembling a rainbow appear.

“I-I don’t know!”. She closes her eyes and tries to think harder but only more rainbows appear from behind her eyes. She gasps then passes out again.

“Hija! Hija! Naku, natulog na naman uli! Gumising ka na, ang tagal na namin naghihintay sa susunod na kabanata!”, Bella exclaims for dramatic effect. (translation: "Dear! Dear! Oh no, she fell asleep again! Wake up, we've been waiting for the next chapter for so long!")

Bella's histrionics result in a doctor and a nurse rushing in to the room to check Jade’s vital statistics. The doctor steps back after a while and nods solemnly at the group.

“Ma’m, I’m afraid this young woman is suffering from…” *drum roll please*

The group waits with bated breath.

“S-she’s suffering from…” *drum roll intensifies*

“Siya ay…” *drum roll speeds up even more* (translation: "She is...")

“Ang nangyari sa kanya ay…” *SLAP!* (translation: "What happened to her is...")

Sick of the doctor dragging it out for much longer than necessary, Bella has decided to snap him out of it with her backhand.

The doctor tentatively feels around his neck in case of whiplash and finally squeaks it out. “Meron siyang AMNESIA!” (translation: "She has AMNESIA!")

A dramatic gasp rolls through the crowd while an invisible light bulb flashes above Bella’s head.

Jade's eyelids slowly part open again at the noise the crowd is making. Bella gives a killer look to the doctor who squeaks and shuffles hurriedly out the door. She turns her scary gaze to her servants who promptly shut up. Bella tries to put on her most ‘concerned and caring’ face and grasps Jade’s hand.

“Hija… ako ang mama mo.”  (translation: "Dear... I am your mother.") 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> RIP the one and only Bella Flores - classy lady who set the standard that all kontrabidas after her can only hope to live up to.
> 
> I need some ideas on how to add the following to the fic:  
> \- time lapse  
> \- kung fu catfight  
> \- wine being thrown in someone’s face  
> \- kidnapping and stashing hostage in a warehouse  
> \- lesbian shotgun wedding  
> \- swapped at birth  
> \- rags to riches  
> \- riches to rags  
> \- mermaids  
> \- vampires  
> \- magical artifact that makes someone turn from ugly to pretty


	2. Spam uli (translation: Spam again)

~ soap opera-style time leap of 2 years ~

Althea sat up suddenly in bed, jolted awake by yet another nightmare. Her and Jade were helplessly trapped under twisted metal and losing blood fast. Jade looked across at her from the wreckage and held her hand... then disappeared in an explosion of rainbows!

Althea looked across the room signs of disturbance, her hand subconsciously moving to the empty side of her bed. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she looked at the clock on her bedside table.

It was 4:20am. No use going back to sleep now. It was a good time to get on the road if she wanted to beat the Manila traffic. She trudged sluggishly to the bathroom to shower and brush her teeth. Even these small daily chores brought painful memories to the surface for Althea. She smiled wanly at her reflection in the mirror after brushing her teeth and quietly moved to get dressed in all black.

She got into her new Subaru and started the engine. As expected, even at this hour on a Sunday, the roads of Manila were not completely empty. However, the traffic was light enough for Althea to make it out of the city to visit her loved ones without being delayed too much.

This was her normal routine every Sunday ever since she got out of the hospital 2 years ago. She had woken up from her coma with frightening visions of Jade being hurt, only to find that she herself was in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Freaked out at not seeing Jade beside her, she had attempted to get out of the hospital bed only for various alarms to trigger and medical personnel suddenly bursting into the room to make sure she stayed put. Amidst the chaotic shouting, Batchi entered the room and begged Althea to calm down.

“Batchi! Nasaan si Jade?!” (translation: “Batchi! Where’s Jade?!”)

Althea snapped out of memory lane as she passed by a brightly lit billboard on her route that irritated her so much. There she was, the latest starlet craze, Isabel Flores, looking smug and naughty while holding a can of Spam. The same Isabel Flores who was starring as the antagonist on the controversial new series on TV, “Stairway To Hell”. Her celebrity pedigree, slapping technique and scandalous off-camera antics were the talk of the nation.

Althea knew her annoyance was irrational… It was no use getting mad just because Isabel Flores reminded her of somebody. Althea tore her gaze away from the attractive starlet’s face on the billboard and concentrated back on the road. Eventually, she slowed to a stop at a car park. She got out and walked the well-worn path to where two tombstones lay. The cemetery was almost empty at this time in the morning.

Holding back tears, she said her prayers silently. She supposed that her father not being around to see her like this was kind of a blessing. She added a quick prayer to give thanks for that. He had died thinking she would become happy and settle with Jade. Instead he lay next to an empty grave where Althea had requested a tombstone in Jade’s memory. Althea was never given a chance to see Jade one last time at her funeral. Amanda had only sneered at her and claimed only ‘family’ had been allowed and that the body was cremated. Adding insult to injury seemed to be yet another Tanchingco tradition.

Jade had been right about fearing her father would stop at nothing to separate them. Althea shivered, remembering the car crash. She often wished she had died in it along with Jade. But she knew Jade wouldn’t have wanted her to think like this. She knelt down and tenderly traced over the name on the stone.

“Jade Guevarra”. Althea couldn’t bear to write “Tanchingco” after they had indirectly murdered their own daughter. They may not have had a chance to marry, but at least here, Jade was finally free from the oppressive chains her family had tried to put around her.

“Lablab… kumusta na?”. (translation: "Love-love, how are you?")  
Althea tries to crack a smile as she places her hand over Jade’s name.

“Sana, magkita na tayo uli…” (translation: "I wish, we would see each other again...")  
She sniffles a little and looks away for a moment to compose herself.

“Pero ‘wag kang magalala… I promise, hindi ko sasaktan ko ang sarili ko. Alam ko naman na hind mo ‘yon gugustuhin. Nagsusumikap ako to get through every day kahit wala ka na… Pero lablab… miss na miss na kita. Kung sana nga lang ay makita kita muli, kahit kaunting saglit lang.” (translation: "But don't worry... I promise I won't hurt myself. I already know that's not what you would want. I'm just trying to get through every day even though you're not here. But love-love... I miss you so much. If only I could see you just one more time, even if just for a brief moment.")

Althea sighs and runs her hand over Jade’s name one more time before getting up and walking back to her car.

As she approached the city, she inevitably passed by the Spam billboard yet again. Althea sighed and kept a tighter grip on the steering wheel. She supposed there could be worse trials than being forced to see Isabel Flores’ face on a billboard so often. The uncanny likeness to Jade wasn’t Isabel’s fault. Besides, it was a good reminder for Althea that she was out of Spam. She steered towards the nearest grocery store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raise your hands if you are pretending the show ended at the airport scene... lol.
> 
> Anyhoo... next chapter, we will get to know "Isabel" a bit more :p


	3. Diva 101

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which flashbacks and time leaps are overused to the max.

~ flashback to 2 years ago ~

“Isa-Bella? Wow ang creative mo, m’am!”. (translation: “Isa-Bella? Wow, you’re so creative, m’am!”)

Bella slapped her assistant for her insolent comment. “Okay, para medyo moderno, ’Isabel’ ang itatawag ko san kanya!” (translation: “Okay, to be a bit modern, I’ll call her ‘Isabel’!”)

Bella raised her eyebrow as if to dare her maid or any of her other employees to criticise her name choice. When she is met with meek silence from all of them, she turns her attention back to the sleeping beauty in the middle of the room. Jade had been too weak to ask any further questions and had fallen asleep after hugging who she thought was her mother

Bella’s heart pitied the young woman whose fate surely would have been much worse had they not crossed paths. She looked so innocent and defenseless! Bella wished the poor thing would at least learn a thing or two from someone fierce and fabulous as herself! Nobody messed with Bella without regretting it, and that's just how life should be.

The invisible lightbulb flashed above Bella’s head yet again as she thought of ideas to introduce Jade to the world as her daughter. Bella had faded away from showbiz for quite some time. While she had been smart enough to invest and be good with money to permanently support her glamorous lifestyle, she had not been quite ready for complete retirement from the limelight. She signed a cheque and motioned to her employee to give it to the hospital directors to buy their staff's silence. Her "daughter" was coming home with her soon.

 

~ soapy time machine jumping forward by 2 weeks from last scene ~

Isabel tentatively stepped out of the limousine, aided by a bodyguard. She looked up at the grand mansion before her, trying to recall any past memories there. Another bodyguard strolled up to her with a wheelchair for her, but she waved him away, determined to get back to her old self, whoever she was.

“Hija! Welcome home!”, Bella exclaimed as she engulfed Isabel in a hug. She led Isabel to the mansion’s magnificent front doors and snapped her fingers at several maids to open them to begin her grand tour.

“Hija, sabi ng doctor ay baka mabuti sa yo if we start from the beginning.”, Bella whispered to Isabel as she led her around the mansion to supposedly jog her memory. (translation: “Dear, the doctor says it may be good for you if we start from the beginning.”)

Bella showed Jade the grand reception rooms, the sprawling dining room, the swimming pool, pool house, vast gardens, numerous guest rooms, the doors which led to the kitchen and hidden servants’ quarters(because who needs to see that if they ain’t doing the housework themselves, amirite?), and finally, to a massive bedroom with a large balcony.

“Isabel, anak… ito ang bedroom mo! *cough* Hindi mo ba natatandaan?” (translation: “Isabel, my child… this is your bedroom! *cough* Don’t you remember?”)

“H-hindi… mama…”. (translation: “N-no… mama…”)  
Isabel felt strange calling this woman her mother. She looked around the room then at Bella and tried to claw back any memory of them and still couldn’t come up with anything. She lamented internally at her lack of success in remembering anything. This woman had been nothing but kind and motherly towards her. How could she have forgotten her own mother?!

Bella gestured enthusiastically towards another set of doors and urged Isabel to open them. Isabel walked slowly towards the doors, puzzled at Bella’s enthusiasm. She pulled the doors open and gasped at finding a vast walk-in wardrobe behind them. It was full of stylish outfits in black, crimson and violet, and a heap of glittering jewellery. Not a single girlish pink to be found! This was the wardrobe of a vampy, confident woman.

“O hija, hindi mo ba namimiss itong mga damit mo? Aren’t you glad to be out of that drab hospital robe? Sige, magpalit ka na! Maybe it’ll help you feel back to your normal self!” (translation: “Oh dear, didn’t you miss your clothes? Aren’t you glad to be out of that drab hospital robe? Go on, get changed! Maybe it’ll help you feel back to your normal self!”)

Isabel nodded at her mother and started running her hands across some of the clothes. Did she really use to wear these?? She tried to imagine what she would have picked out for a casual outfit. Her hands finally stilled on black low-cut top, tight leather pants, stilettos, dazzling silver earrings and a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a dagger. She went into the en suite to change.

Bella clapped her hands in glee as Isabel stepped out of the bathroom. Isabel looked amazing! Gone was the timid-looking girl in hospital rags, and in her place was someone who looked like they would stab you with their stiletto heel if you even looked at them the wrong way.

Isabel twirled slowly in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror in her bedroom. She could not recognize her reflection… but she liked what she was seeing! A smile slowly crept up on her face.

 

~ soapy time machine jumping forward by 5 months from last scene ~

“Hindi ko siyang tinulak magshowbiz! Pinatapos ko muna ng eskwula like any good mother *coy giggle*. Pero sa sobrang talent at ganda niya, hindi ko tala mapigil ang kapalaran niyang maging star katulad ko!!”

(translation: “I didn’t push her to get into showbiz! I made her finish school like any good mother *coy giggle*. But with her great talent and beauty, I just couldn’t stop her destiny at turning into a star like me!!”)

Bella smiled in satisfaction as she read the entertainment column of the newspaper. She had featured yet again in another interview. It seemed the press couldn’t get enough of stories about her secret lovechild!

She had concocted a fabulous story about hiding Isabel away in America to shield her from the the trials of being a celebrity’s daughter. She pointedly ignored the jokes about how Isabel’s father must have been extremely handsome to make up for whatever genes she was missing from Bella, and was delighted when Isabel stepped up and glared at the interviewers. Isabel made it clear that she did not take insults about her mother lightly, and her hair-trigger temper immediately convinced many that she was indeed the daughter of the famed villainess.

Isabel had proved a quick study like Bella had hoped. It was not difficult to convince the young woman that prior to her car accident, she had been auditioning for kontrabida(translation: antagonist) roles, having been inspired by her mother. At first, Isabel watched with interest as Bella berated and slapped her maids and bodyguards whenever she was in a bad mood. It looked like so much fun to be someone who could do whatever she wanted!

The next time a houseboy took too long to bring her a fresh drink, Isabel raised her voice and slapped him. Bella witnessed this first slap with dismay. Isabel had no technique!! The slap barely grazed the incompetent houseboy. Bella immediately strode over.

“Hija, mali yung timing at angle mo…” Bella chided gently. (translation: “Dear, your timing and angle is wrong…”)  
She raised Isabel’s hand and aimed it at the cowering houseboy. “Dapat, ma-surprise siya! At lakasan mo! Kailangan may whiplash! At sabihin mo na wala siyang kwenta!” (translation: “You need to surprise him! And put some strength into it! There needs to be whiplash! And tell him he's worthless!”)

Isabel narrowed her eyes then let her hand fly. The houseboy’s head almost flew backwards and he ran out of the room whimpering in pain. "Wala kang silbi!" (translation: "You're useless!")

Isabel looked at her hand in amazement as Bella praised her enthusiastically.

“Hija, that was perfect! I knew you would take after me!”

Soon after, Isabel began demonstrating her slapping technique in auditions. Producers who were eager to cash in on the controversial story about Bella’s lovechild immediately cast her as the villainess in their latest soap. She aced every scene that required slapping the protagonist!

However, they were soon scandalized even further during taping one day when Isabel suddenly yanked the leading actress towards her and delivered her next line somewhat… seductively.

“You’re nothing! But a talentless. Tasteless. Pussycat!”

Isabel then caressed her co-star’s jaw tenderly before suddenly rearing back and slapping her. The crew gasped at how incredibly dramatic it looked.

From the sidelines, Bella’s eyes widened in shock. She was not expecting this... Her foundling was capital G Gay!

And… it was such perfect timing with the recent news around the world. Bella couldn’t believe her luck at landing this rainbow treasure. She was so in fashion right now! She tried to contain her excitement at the future interviews she would soon again be doing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Althea meets Isabel. And no one loses their corneas.


	4. The moment we met, I just couldn’t explain…

 

Althea grabbed the remote control and changed the TV channel. That Spam commercial was just everywhere! Sales had apparently gone up by 50% since it aired. Althea supposed that it was funny to see a beautiful actress like Isabel Flores dressed to the nines walking through a kitchen in slow motion, then slapping a maid for forgetting to buy Spam. But still… did they really have to play it on almost every single channel?

She huffed as she kept on switching channels and inevitably ended up on the one playing a rerun of Isabel’s soap opera, “Stairway to Hell”. So many people were going so crazy for this soap, especially with the recent news that Isabel was a lesbian. The tabloids had a field day with Isabel’s coming out interview. It was probably one the rudest, most self-congratulatory interviews that Althea had ever seen on TV. Isabel was definitely one hell of a personality. She had even outright slapped one of the interviewers when he asked an offensive question about her not having found the right man. The camera panned to Bella, Isabel's famous mother, sitting on the front row and clapping encouragingly at her daughter's antics. Still, the audience seemed to lap up Isabel's brand of bluntness and wanted more. Her legions of fans continued to grow.

Even Batchi, Wila and all of Althea’s other friends were caught up in the hype. They pretended to not watch the show out of respect for Althea, but Althea knew Isabel was a favorite topic of conversation whenever Althea wasn’t within earshot, even with her employees at the office.

Onscreen, Isabel’s character had gotten into yet another catfight with the protagonist. Althea just shook her head in disbelief as the two characters grappled with each other and fell onto a bed, looking like anything but fighting. Althea shifted a little in her seat and tugged at her collar before changing the channel.

She almost raised her hands up in defeat when the channel she switched to was a celebrity talk show, and the current guest star was * drum roll please * you guessed it! Isabel Flores. It seemed as if there was no escaping her tonight in TV-land.

**Talk show host:** “Isabel, ang daming nagsasabi na kahawig mo ang dating kontrabida star na si Amanda Tanchingco! Ano ang sey mo dyan? Baka magkamaganak kayo?” (translation: “Isabel, a lot of people are saying that you look like former kontrabida star, Amanda Tanchingco! What do you say about that? Maybe you’re related?”

**Isabel:** *laughs derisively* “Actually, I’ve watched some of her movies at dati, inaadmire ko siya! Pero I heard she gave up her career to marry some rich man. How disappointing, ‘no? Gold-digger pala siya in real life, pati onscreen!” (translation: “Actually, I’ve watched some of her movies and I used to admire her! But I heard she gave up her career to marry some rich man. Isn’t that disappointing? She turned out to be a gold-digger in real life as well as onscreen!”)

The talks show host and the audience gasp, and Isabel smirks in satisfaction at their reaction.

**Isabel:** “Anyway, it doesn’t matter! Laos na si Amanda! She will never be a screen legend like me or my mother.” The camera panned yet again to Bella who stood up and waved at everyone, loving all the attention she was getting. (translation: “Anyway, it doesn’t matter! Amanda is a has-been! She will never be a screen legend like me or my mother.”)

Althea says “wow” to herself silently in the comfort of her living room as she watches the interview. Jade would never have said something that mean about Amanda Tanchingco, no matter how much Amanda had hurt her. It gave her the tiniest degree of comfort, easing any weird, lingering doubt Althea might have about Isabel possibly being related to the Tanchingcos due to her looks.

Althea counted it as a small blessing that this rude, blunt woman on TV right now was as far from Jade’s sweet, gentle personality as can be. It helped quell any futile hope she might develop that Jade had miraculously come back to life. Such thoughts were just dangerous for her mental health.

**Talk show host:** “And finally, Isabel, of course we have to ask! Is there someone special in your life?”

Isabel narrows her eyes at the host, causing him to gulp in fear a little.

**Isabel:** “No, wala akong girlfriend right now. Since I know that’s what you’re really asking. *rolls eyes*” (translation: "No, I don't have a girlfriend right now. Since I know that’s what you’re really asking. *rolls eyes*”)

The talk show host looks guilty and chastised and Isabel turns her eyes back to the camera to address the audience.

**Isabel:** “Anyway, I’m too much for just one woman! So to ALL the pretty ladies out there, watch out! *winks*”

Fangirly screams ring throughout the crowd and Althea huffs in annoyance and decides to finally just switch off the television.

From what she overheard from Batchi’s gossiping at work, Isabel was quite the ladykiller. She had already been linked to numerous women both outside and inside the celebrity world, and seemed to leave a trail of broken hearts everywhere she went. People were intrigued by this feminine stunner, and she seemed to keep acquiring new admirers despite having a reputation for being rude, arrogant and impatient. Althea supposed it was just a refreshing change of pace from all the pabebe starlets.

Althea leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Yet another Friday night of her staying in at home. She knew there were some unanswered texts on her phone from Batchi and Wila urging her to go out to an exclusive party with them tomorrow night. She looked between the remote control and her phone. The thought of a Saturday night stuck watching TV by herself and seeing another thousand repeats of the same Spam commercials motivated her to finally pick up her phone and reply to Batchi.

  
~ Saturday night ~

Althea took the straw out of her drink before taking a sip of her drink, and looked around the club. Batchi and Wila chatted animatedly next to her about the latest goss on the local scene, and Althea knew she was only half-listening to their chatter. Part of her wanted to cut the night short and go back to moping on the sofa at home, but Batchi would never let her hear the end of it. It had been ages since they went to any exclusive parties together, and it would be terrible of Althea to ditch them so soon. Althea leaned back against the bar and tried to relax.

“Napanood mo yung Stairway kahapon? Ang grabe, 'no? Sobra na talaga yung sexual tension nung bida at kontrabida!”, Batchi said excitedly. (translation: “Did you watch Stairway yesterday? It was so over the top, yeah? There was so much sexual tension between the heroine and the villainess!”)

Wila rolled her eyes and replied, “Iniinis lang tayo siguro nong mga writers na ‘yon! Alam naman nila na gusto na natin silang maghalikan, eh puro eyesex at sabunotan lang ang binibigay sa ‘tin.” (translation: “The writers must be trying to piss us off! They know that we want them to kiss, but they just have eyesex and pull each other’s hair in catfights.”)

Althea looked at her friends warily from the corner of her eyes, and Batchi sheepishly apologized. “Sorry Althea… alam namin na medyo weird na parang kahawig ng konti ni Isabel si Jade…” (translation: “Sorry Althea… we know that it’s a bit weird that Isabel looks a little bit like Jade…”)

“Anong ‘kahawig ng konti’?? Ang sabihin mo, para silang pinagbiyak na bunga!”, Wila drunkly retorted. (translation: "What do you mean ’looks a little bit’?? What you should say is, they look like exactly like two peas in a pod!”)

Althea sighed and put her drink down. “Batchi… Wila… it’s okay. Kung gusto nyong mag chica chica sa isang telenovela, okay lang sa kin yun. It’s just TV, di ba?” (translation: “Batchi… Wila… it’s okay. If you want to gossip about a telenovela, it’s fine with me. It’s just TV, isn’t it?”)

Batchi diplomatically changed the conversation anyway, The three friends continued to just hang out and enjoy each others company. Althea felt her uneasiness slowly ebbing away and was just starting to feel that maybe this night out wasn’t such a bad idea after all... That thought was cut short when they heard a sudden commotion at the front door. The whole club almost stood still as a large entourage of pretty women walked in.

Althea’s heart dropped into her stomach as she realized who the ringleader of this wolf pack was. It was none other than Isabel Flores herself! She looked amazingly hot in a tight black dress, killer heels, silver jewellery and a black clutch.  Althea could vaguely recall rumors of Isabel being a big party girl and occasionally going out to the local lesbian scene, but she hadn’t expected that she would turn up to a relatively low-key club like this. Althea tore her eyes away from Isabel and her entourage, and turned around to face the bar instead.

Batchi tentatively tapped her on the shoulder. “Umm, ‘thea? Are you okay?”

“Batch… okay lang. Oo, medyo weird, pero hindi naman natin siya kilala. Hindi naman tayo celeb, wala tayo pagasa dyan.”, Althea joked. (translation: “Batch… it’s okay. Yes, it’s a little weird, but we don’t even know her. We’re not celebs, we don’t have a hope of being in their league.”)

The truth was, Althea was taken aback by how close Isabel’s resemblance was to Jade. The resemblance was even more obvious in real life than simply seeing Isabel onscreen or in the tabloid papers. Althea forced herself to keep her gaze away for her own sanity. She weighed up how much more crazier she would look if she just bolted out of the club, simply because someone that looked like Jade happened to be around. She decided it would be better for her to stay and try to act a bit more normal, and simply enjoy this night out with her friends.

Wila scoffed as she glanced over at Isabel’s group but bites back the next thing she’s about to say when she notices how tense Althea is looking. She starts another topic of conversation and soon, the three friends are carrying on a discussion again, seemingly oblivious to the celebrity entourage on the other side of the club.

Althea nervously started playing with her lucky charm bracelet and scratched the back of her neck. She didn’t know why, but she had that niggling feeling that she was being watched. This was ridiculous to her because in clubs like these, women were most definitely checking each other out. It’s not like she did not know this before she got dressed up to go out tonight! She tried her best to focus back on the current topic of conversation with her friends. She took a few more sips of her drink, then excused herself to go to the bathroom.

Althea tries to calm herself while she’s in one of the bathroom stalls and wondered if maybe she’s had enough of the club for tonight. It was probably best if she just had one last drink with her friends, then went home to get some sleep. She walked out of the stall, then washed and dried her hands. She took her lipstick out from her clutch and looked up at the mirror, and is stunned to see Isabel’s reflection smirking back at her.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: No one drops their lipstick cap or drops a bar of soap in the bathroom. But someone does drop a pickup line!


	5. Do you come here often?

Isabel scanned her eyes across the club, appraising each woman she saw objectively. Her sycophantic entourage bopped along to music with her. One of them strolled over to a spare table and waved the rest of the group over. Another one brought Isabel a drink which Isabel took without saying thanks. These people should just be grateful to be around her! She took the straw out of her drink and tossed it on the table before taking a sip.

Isabel made a mental note to keep turning up to these parties more often. There were pretty women everywhere! Just the way she liked it. Her eyes drifted to the bar where a group of friends were standing together. Her gaze settled on the woman with beautiful eyes and stylish haircut ending just a few inches above her shoulders. Isabel raked her eyes over the woman’s collar bones, neck and lips. She seemed to be half-listening to whatever her friends were saying while occasionally taking sips of her drink. A slow smile spread over Isabel’s face as she saw the woman put her glass down and walk towards the direction of the toilets.

Isabel drained her drink and put her glass down, not sparing a glance for her entourage as she made a beeline for the toilets. The woman she had followed was standing in front of the mirrors, washing and drying her hands. She looks up and notices Isabel. Isabel smirks at the woman’s surprise.

Isabel fully expects the woman to spin around and gape at her, but is surprised when the woman changes her face back to a neutral expression and starts touching up her makeup as if Isabel wasn’t there.

Isabel frowns at why this woman is not throwing herself at her already, but she ploughs on. “Excuse me, miss. Have we met before?”

Althea’s breath hitches and she pauses for a moment. After using almost all of her willpower to not fall apart on the spot, she tries to address what surely must be an innocent question from this stranger.

“No Miss Flores, I don’t think we have.”

Isabel’s smirk comes back. “Ah, so kilala mo pala ako. Are you sure na hindi tayo nag-meet before?” (translation: “Ah, so you do know me. Are you sure we haven’t met before?”)

Althea smiles a little at the obvious pickup attempt and shakes her head. “No, pero like many people, minsan nagspa-spam ako for breakfast.” (translation: “No, but like many people, sometimes I have spam for breakfast.”)

Isabel laughs and puts her hand out. “Please let me formally introduce myself anyway. I’m Isabel. Isabel Flores.”

Althea looks at the outstretched hand and decides nothing good can come from being rude. “Nice to meet you, Miss Flores. I’m Althea”, and shakes her hand.

The cliche electric bolt makes its appearance as their hands touch.

Althea tries to pull away but Isabel holds on. “I’m sorry Althea, hindi ko nadinig yung apelyido mo… Kung ‘Althea Flores’ kaya? Bagay ‘di ba?” (translation: “I’m sorry Althea, I didn’t hear your last name… Maybe it should be ‘Althea Flores’? It sounds good, doesn’t it?”)

Althea’s eyes widen in surprise and she yanks her hand away. She takes one look at Isabel’s smug grin and can’t help but laugh.

“Ang corny mo pala. Madami bang nauuto sa ganyan?” (translation: “You’re so corny. Are there lots of people who fall for that?”)

Isabel wiggles her eyebrows and as she replies, “Isa lang ang gusto kong mauto.” (translation: “There’s only one person I want to fall for it.”)

Althea can’t help but giggle at this silliness. “Excuse me, Miss Flores, I need to go. Iiwan na lang kita dito sa banyo, baka may iba pang madulas pa sa smooth moves mo dito.” (translation: “Excuse me, Miss Flores, I need to go. I’ll just leave you here in the toilets, there may some other people who will slip on your smooth moves.”)

Isabel moves to the side and lets Althea pass through. “Wag kang mag-alala, I’ll catch you in my arms kung madulas ka, Miss…?” (translation: “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you in my arms if you slip, Miss…?”)

Althea lets out another chuckle and relents “Guevarra. Althea Guevarra”. She keeps walking away, but subconsciously turns her head to take one last look behind her, and sees Isabel looking back with a smile on her face.

Althea goes back to the bar and tells her friends she’s calling it a night. Wila and Batchi complain at first that she’s leaving so early but are pacified when she tells them she won’t go back to staying in every weekend and will hang out with them again next week. She drives home and has a dreamless night of sleep.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On Monday morning, Althea arrives at her office and her secretary jumps up excitedly.

“Ma’m! May dumating para sa inyo! It’s on your desk.” (translation: “Ma’m! There’s something that arrived for you. It’s on your desk.”)

Althea is puzzled at what kind of package would get her secretary so excited. It was almost like her secretary was… kilig. They got deliveries from suppliers all the time for the business. Surely, it couldn’t be that interesting?

She opens the door to her office and is stunned to find a big gift basket. Instead of flowers or chocolates, this was rather strange indeed. The basket was full of cans of spam and eggs. The way it was arranged made the whole thing look weirdly artistic and pretty. Althea noticed a card attached to the basket and read it.

 

_Miss Guevarra,_

_I hope that we can have breakfast together soon… Preferably, breakfast in bed ;-)_

_\- Isabel_

 

“Wow, lakas ng dating.”, Althea murmurs to herself. (translation: “Wow, coming on strong.”)

Trying to ponder how Isabel figured out where her office was so quickly, Althea sinks into her chair, leans back and stares at the gift for a few more moments.

Her eyes drift over to a picture frame sitting on the other side of her desk. The picture was of her and Jade in the office, with Jade sitting on the very same desk grinning happily at the camera while Althea sat on her chair sporting an equally happy smile. Althea picks up the frame and traces Jade's face in the picture for a moment before deciding to get on with her working day. She calls her secretary to take the gift and put into the office kitchen, and to tell the rest of the staff they’re free to take some of the breakfast goodies home if they want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I would get a gift basket this thoughtful! *sob sob*.
> 
> Next chapter, they meet again… And Wila meets Isabel. Sing it with me: “War! What is it good for? Aaaabsooolutely nothin’!” :p


	6. Datecrashing

Althea pushed her food around her plate as her client babbled on about colour schemes and invitation card designs. She had agreed to have this meeting at a restaurant at her client’s insistence that she wouldn’t have time to make it to Althea’s office before 5:00pm that day. However, as the dinner went on, Althea slowly realized that perhaps her client had other intentions…

Her client’s gaze had lingered on Althea’s body for far too long than what was professional and she had insisted on buying an expensive bottle of wine for the table. Althea had to keep steering the conversation back to the birthday party that her client was supposedly trying to organize whenever she tried to ask questions about Althea’s personal life.

Althea looked across the table and sighed internally. It’s not like her client was ugly or not charming. Althea knew she eventually had to get back into the dating scene and have some sort of a life. It wasn’t healthy for her to keep moping… She knew she had lost a lot of weight and her face always looked so tired and gaunt from all the sleepless nights. Batchi had even started gently teasing her about it while Wila, sassy as usual, said that she really ought to publish a weight-loss book recommending a diet of hopia and tears.

Althea tried to put on a smile and listen more attentively to her client who had veered again from the topic of the birthday party and was now describing her trips to France to visit family. Althea nodded at all the appropriate moments and when her client had finished the story, Althea sincerely said, “That sounds impressive, Kathleen”.

Kathleen beamed at her and offered her some more wine. Althea tried to relax into the conversation but couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Isabel swished the wine around her glass as she looked across from the restaurant to observe her prey. Althea had not noticed Isabel when she walked in with some of her crew and castmates; Althea had been busy reading through some papers she had brought with her. Isabel’s eyes flicked to the other woman sitting with Althea who was clearly a client of hers. The pair appeared to be discussing some contract terms before a bottle of wine arrived at their table. Isabel watched the changes in Althea’s expression with amusement as it slowly dawned on the woman that her client was flirting with her. She had obviously been duped into this business meeting and now did not know quite what to do.

Isabel pretended to be half-listening to whatever her castmates were babbling on about as she continued to watch Althea. She noticed the subtle change in Althea’s eyes as the woman appeared to relax a little and started listening a little more attentively to her companion. Isabel frowned and put her wine glass down. It was time to take action.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Hi! Fancy seeing you here!”

Althea turned her head and almost dropped her wine glass at seeing the person walking towards her table. Of all the restaurants in the world…

“I didn’t know you enjoyed this type of cuisine, Althea. Next time, treat ko, ha?” (translation of last sentence: “Next time, my treat, okay?”)

Still stunned at Isabel’s sudden appearance, Althea greets her back, “Isabel… hi. Ummm, yeah what a surprise… Sino kasama mo?” (translation of last sentence: “Who are you with?”) 

“I’m here with castmates and crew! Break sa taping muna. Ikaw? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date?” (translation: “I’m here with castmates and crew! Taking a break from taping for now. And you? Aren’t you going to introduce me to your date?”) 

Isabel glanced over to Kathleen and smiled slyly as Althea gave the answer that Isabel predicted she would. “Ah… hindi ‘to date. This is Kathleen, one of my clients.” (translation: “Ah… this isn’t a date. This is Kathleen, one of my clients.”)

Kathleen looked annoyed at Althea’s clarification but managed to hide it as she stood up to shake Isabel’s hand. Isabel pointedly ignored the hand that was being held out to her and turned her attention back to Althea. 

“Oh, I hope I’m not interrupting your *cough* ~business meeting~ then”.

“Walang anuman yon”, Althea says politely. (translation: “It’s fine, no worries.”)

Kathleen tries to interrupt. “Miss Flores, if you don’t mind, it’s getting late. We’d really like to get back to business.”

Isabel puts on a fake smile. “Of course! Baka pagod na kasi si Althea. Perhuwisyo ang mag-overtime ‘di ba?” (translation: “Of course! Althea might be tired already. It’s such a burden to have to do overtime, isn’t it?”)

Feeling irritated at Isabel’s insinuations, Kathleen replies, “Actually, we’re just taking some time to relax from work as well. That’s why I chose this place for the meeting”.

Isabel ignores her and leans a little closer to Althea. “So Althea, when are you going to take me up on my breakfast invitation?”

Althea remembers the weird gift basket of spam and eggs, and she can’t help but smile a little. She jokingly replies, “Ewan. Baka naubusan ka na ng spam. Laki ng padala mo eh.” (translation: “I don’t know. Maybe you ran out of spam already. You sent so much.”)

Isabel laughs and says “May lifetime supply ako! Hindi ka magkukulang sa ‘kin.” (translation: “I have a lifetime supply! You will never lack with me.”)

Isabel shoots a quick smirk at Kathleen before turning to Althea and winking. “Besides… I can serve up other things to eat”.

Althea is speechless as she blushes from head to toe, while Kathleen shoots up from her seat in outrage. “C’est des conneries!” (translation from French: “This is bullshit!”)

She throws her napkin on the table and walks out.

Without missing a beat, Isabel takes up the seat that Kathleen vacated and faces Althea with fake expression of concern on her face.

“Oh gosh, ang oversensitive pala niya. Eh eggs lang naman ang ibig sabihin ko.” (translation: “Oh gosh, she turned out to be oversensitive. I just meant I could serve up eggs.”)

Althea crosses her arms and looks sternly over at Isabel. “Miss Flores, I believe you may have just cost me a client.”

Isabel puts on her best puppy eyes and pleads with Althea, “Althea, I’m sorry! I didn’t think my eggs were so offensive.”

Althea can’t help but laugh a little and she ends up uncrossing her arms. “Ok fine. I guess wala na tayong magagawa para mabalik ang nangyari.” (translation: “Ok fine. I guess there’s nothing we can do now to take back what happened.”)

She sighs and looks at her watch. It was getting late. She starts looking around for a waitress to wave over to give her the bill when Isabel reaches for her hand across the table.

“Althea, let me make it up to you. I’m really sorry I ruined your dinner. At least let me pay the bill. And maybe… dessert?”

Althea looks skeptically over at Isabel but eventually sighs and gives in. She always was a sucker for puppy eyes. She smiles a little and says “O sige na nga!” (translation: “Oh, alright!”)

Isabel grins triumphantly and waves a waiter to their table to order them some ice cream. They settle into a pleasant conversation about work as they tuck into their dessert. Althea asks some questions about the taping process and life in the TV industry which Isabel explains to her. Althea finds herself relaxing and forgetting that she’s sitting with a celebrity, especially one with such an infamous reputation. Isabel asks her some questions about her event management business and Althea talks about some of the more recent parties she had to work on.

The ice cream flavour that Isabel had chosen(pistachio) was delicious. Althea is grateful that her evening seems to at least be ending on a sweet note, both literally and metaphorically. Unfortunately, this thought of hers soon gets dashed as she spots Wila walking up to their table, to cause trouble, no doubt.

“O, nasaan na si Kathleen? At ba’t nandito to?!” (translation: “Oh, where’s Kathleen? And why is she here?!”)

“Maganding gabi din sa ‘yo, Wila. And by the way, it’s none of your business”, Althea says with an irritated tone. (translation: “Good evening to you too, Wila. And by the way, it’s none of your business.”)

Isabel looks at Wila as if she is a pesky fly buzzing around their table. She makes a “shoo, go away” motion with her hands. “You heard the lady. Umalis ka na nga dyan”, Isabel says in a bored tone. (translation: “You heard the lady. Just go away already.”)

“Hoy, kahit sikat na artista ka, hindi ako takot sa yo, ‘no! Bakit ka ba nandito at inaabala mo yang si Althea? ‘Di ba dapat may business meeting sya? Nasaan na si Kathleen?” (translation: “Oi, even if you’re a famous actress, I’m not scared of you! Why are you here and why are you bothering Althea? Isn't she supposed to be having a business meeting? Where is Kathleen?”)

Isabel sneers at Wila and says haughtily, “Ikaw ang abala dito. Why is it your business who Althea is having dinner with? It’s obvious you came here tonight to crash her date with Kathleen. Well, I’ve got news for you, Miss Nobody… Tinapos ko na ang kunwaring ‘business intentions’ ni Kathleen. And now Althea and I are trying to enjoy the rest of our evening together. Kaya please lang, ‘no… ‘wag mo na ipahiya ang sarili mo, at umalis ka na!” (translation: “You’re the bother here. Why is it your business who Althea is having dinner with? It’s obvious you came here tonight to crash her date with Kathleen. Well, I’ve got news for you, Miss Nobody… I ended Kathleen’s so-called ‘business intentions’. And now Althea and I are trying to enjoy the rest of our evening together. So please… stop embarrassing yourself and just leave!”)

Wila rears her hand back to slap Isabel but Isabel is quicker than her and catches her hand before it makes contact. Isabel gets up from her seat and backhands Wila hard across the face. She then grabs a glass of wine from a nearby table and splashes it into Wila’s face as well. Wila is shocked, but before she can retaliate, Isabel snaps her fingers at some restaurant staff who promptly rush over to drag Wila out of the restaurant.

A chorus of claps and cheers suddenly ring around the restaurant. The other restaurant patrons on seeing Isabel suddenly thought they had gotten a sneak preview of the next episode of her show. Althea overheard the people behind her whisper, “Ang suwerte natin, nakikita tayo ng taping!!” (translation: “We’re so lucky, we got to see a taping!”)

Isabel starts bowing and waving to her fans, and even starts signing a few autographs. She turns back to her table after a while and is surprised to see Althea is no longer there.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Althea had silently snuck out of the restaurant in the middle of all the commotion and went to the restaurant carpark. She got inside her Subaru and leaned back into the driver’s seat, trying to breathe. Jade would never have done anything like that, she thought. But Isabel’s physical resemblance to her was catching her off-guard and leaving her with some confusing feelings.

And right on cue, there’s a tapping on her car window which jolts her out of her thoughts. She rolls the window down and Isabel asks her if she’s alright.

“Eh hindi naman ako ang nasampal o nabuhasan ng alak, so tingin ko… okay lang ako.” Althea says sarcastically. (translation: “Well I’m not the one who got slapped or had wine splashed on them, so in my opinion… I’m ok.”)

“She started it first! Gusto mo na payagan ko siyang sampalin ako sa harap ng madaming tao? Baka isipan nila na okay lang ako sampal-sampalin, ’no?” (translation: “She started it first! Do you want me to allow her to slap me in front of so many people? They might think it's okay to just slap me around, y'know?")

Althea thinks about Jade being such a slap-magnet and concedes, “Oo nga, you have a point there. Baka i-cast ka as long-suffering bida pag nangyari yon.” (translation: "Yeah, you have a point there. They might cast you as a long-suffering protagonist if that happens.")

Isabel laughs then notices paparazzi behind her. She lets herself into Althea’s car on the passenger’s side. Althea’s mouth falls open at the audacity and forwardness.

“Oy, may mga photographer! Pwede bang maki-hatid sa bahay ko?”, Isabel whispers to Althea while ducking down in the passenger seat. (translation: "Hey there's photographers! Can you drive me to my house?")

Althea takes one look at Isabel’s pleading face and a tiny bit of her heart cracks. She starts the car and drives out of the restaurant carpark. Isabel looks outside the window to hide her smile as she tells Althea her address.

When they get to a big mansion in the fancy side of the city, Isabel slips out of the car. She leans in through the open passenger window and says, “Look, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight. Sana hindi magalit sa ‘yo yung whoever that was kanina.” (translation: “Look, I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable tonight. I hope whoever that was earlier won’t get angry with you.”)

Althea gives Isabel a small smile and replies, “Si Wila yun. Ex ko. Friends na kami ngayon pero minsan nakakalimot yata”. (translation: “That was Wila. My ex. We’re friends now but sometimes she seems to forget.”)

Isabel grins coyly and says, “Oh? I guess I taught her a lesson then. Sana after this, hindi na niya iga-gatecrash ang mga dates mo.” (translation: “Oh? I guess I taught her a lesson then. I hope after this, she won’t gatecrash your dates anymore.”)

Althea laughs then playfully pretends to be annoyed. “Hmmph, date ba yon? Dessert lang ata, ah. At saka ikaw ang unang nag-interrupt sa meeting ko.” (translation: “Hmmph, was that a date? Seems like it was just dessert. And you’re the one who interrupted my meeting first.”)

“Well then let me take you out for a proper dinner. Sisiguraduhin ko na walang makaka-interrupt.” (translation: “Well then let me take you out for a proper dinner. I’ll make sure that no one will be able to interrupt.”)

Althea just smiles softly at Isabel and starts the engine. “Good night, Miss Flores.”

Isabel steps back from the window and watches Althea drive away. With her next scheme already brewing in her head, she turns and walks into her her house.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was pretty much just me looking for an excuse to sneak in that classic Pinoy telenovela trope: catfight where someone gets wine thrown into their face :D
> 
> And Wila totally deserved to be that person who got wine thrown in their face, hehe! Don’t get me wrong, I actually liked the Wila character before they made her OTT evil on the show. I’m sad that they ruined her character along with Jade’s brains, to be honest :(


	7. A new client

“Flowers?”

“Check!”

“Table settings?”

“Check!”

“Speeches?”

“Check!”

Batchi did not bother suppressing her yawn as she ticked through a checklist with Althea for yet another grand wedding for a client. Most days she was genuinely happy for the couples they worked with, but occasionally it seemed all same old, same old to her. Everybody wants some fairytale kind of day. Sometimes, it was simply hard to feel enthusiastic, knowing that she and her friends didn’t have the same privilege of being able to marry.

She made puppy eyes at Althea hoping her friend and boss would agree to take a coffee break. Althea just rolled her eyes at her and prodded her to keep going through the checklist. Batchi sighed in defeat. But of course, only Jade had any success with using puppy eyes on Althea, Batchi thought to herself. She really could use a coffee right now to stay awake.

Althea’s secretary suddenly burst in through the door looking very excited. “Ma’m Althea!! Ma’m Althea!! You have a visitor!!”  
  
Althea frowned at her secretary’s strange, hyper behaviour. “Umm, okay ka lang? Sino ba yon?” (translation: “Umm, are you okay? Who is it?”)

Instead of answering her boss, the secretary just let out a fangirly squeal and bounced out of Althea’s office.

Batchi, now a bit more awake from all the commotion, scratched her head in confusion and asked Althea, “May ine-expect ka ba?” (translation: “Are you expecting someone?”)

Althea shook her head to say no. The door opened again and revealed the new arrival. Batchi’s jaw dropped open in shock.

“Magandang hapon, Althea. What a nice office you have…”, Isabel greeted as she walked in and looked around. (translation: “Good afternoon, Althea. What a nice office you have…”)

“Isabel… good afternoon…”, Althea quietly replied.

Batchi glanced between her best friend and the TV star standing in the middle of their office as they stared at each other. Althea’s face had an unreadable expression while Isabel had a barely hidden smirk.

“K-kilala mo sya??”, Batchi asked her friend incredulously. (translation: “You k-know her??”)

Althea seemed unfazed as she continued to look at Isabel and gestured to Batchi and said, “This is Batchi. My best friend and very distracted co-worker”. Then stating the obvious, she added, “Batchi, this is is Isabel.”

“Batchi, nice to meet you”, Isabel said as she politely held her hand out for a handshake. Too shocked to ask further questions, Batchi just limply shook her hand and continued to look at Althea for answers.

“Isabel… I don’t mean to be rude, but… what are you doing here? How did you know where my office is?”, Althea asked.

Isabel winked at her. “I have my ways, Miss Guevarra.”

Althea gave her a half-smile and didn’t push her for any further details. Batchi was just about to make a sarcastic quip about how easy it was to find their office address on Google, but noticed the two were now just pretty much staring at each other like there was no one else in the room. She felt like she was interrupting some sort of moment and felt a weird sense of deja vu.

“*ahem* Ah, Althea? Labas muna ako, ha? Coffee break lang! Umm, it was nice to meet you Isabel”, said Batchi as she hastily made for the door. (translation: "*ahem* Ah, Althea? I'm going out for a bit, okay? Just for a coffee break! Umm, it was nice to meet you Isabel”). The door clicked shut behind her and the two still did not move from their spot.

“Alone at last…”, Isabel said with a predatory smile.

Althea chuckled nervously and moved towards her desk to give herself a little bit of distance from Isabel. She leaned back on the front of her desk and turned to face her visitor. “What can I do for you, Isabel?”

Isabel let her eyes drag slowly up from Althea’s feet up through her whole body before finally meeting Althea’s eyes. She considered saying the many, many things Althea could do for her. But as she studied Althea’s strange, haunted expression and body language at that moment, she had an inkling that it wasn't time to take that approach. Yet.

“I’d like to throw a party.”

Althea raised an eyebrow at that. “A party? Are you seeking my services, Miss Flores?”

Isabel bit her lip. The urge to say something sleazy after that last line was extremely strong, but she held her composure. Then she noticed Althea’s slightly teasing smile and she felt a sudden rush of happiness that she couldn’t explain. She was used to attention now from pretty women but there was something about Althea that drew her in.

“I do. I do want your services. I want to make it up to you for losing a client the other night.”

Althea shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

“Hindi mo kasalanan na nag-walk out si Kathleen sa deal”, said Althea, even though it totally was Isabel’s fault. (translation: “It wasn’t your fault that Kathleen walked out on the deal.”)

“It doesn’t matter, Althea. Gusto ko pa din mag-make up to you ang nangyari(translation: “I still want to make it up to you for what happened.”). And besides, does anyone ever really need a reason to throw a party? I want to have fun, get my dance on, y’know what I’m sayin’?”. Isabel did a cheesy “party on, raise your hands up in the air” gesture which made Althea laugh a little. She wondered if Isabel knew how adorkable she looked just then.

“Okay okay, what kind of party?”

Isabel’s eyes gleamed as she answered. “An exclusive one.”

Althea shot her a surprised and disbelieving look. “Exclusive? Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Yes, Althea. Gusto ko mag-organize ng exclusive party for lesbians for one night only(translation: “I want to organize an exclusive party for lesbians for one night only”). We don’t have them often enough in Manila. Why not have at least one more?”

“Isabel, this really isn’t my area of expertise… I mean sure, I’m an event manager, pero hindi ko pa nasubukan mag-organize ng ganoong klase ng event. Sure ka ba na hindi mo gusto ng someone na may experience sa ganoon?” (translation: “Isabel, this really isn’t my area of expertise… I mean sure, I’m an event manager, but I’ve never tried that kind of event. Are you sure you don’t want someone who has experience with that?”)

Isabel walked forward, closing the distance between herself and Althea to look deeply into her eyes. “I’m sure I don’t want anyone else.”

Althea’s grip on the desk behind her tightened to retain her balance. No wonder the tabloids called Isabel a ladykiller. She felt like she was melting on the spot the way Isabel gazed at her. She tried to get back some semblance of professional composure.

“Then I’ll try my best… But I can’t give any promises.”, Althea stated solemnly.

Isabel grinned. “Salamat, Althea. Alam ko na you will be amazing.” (translation: “Thank you, Althea. I know you will be amazing.”)

She reaches her hand out for Althea to shake and Althea steps away from her desk to clasp it. A tingle goes back up both their arms again and Althea pulls back after a moment, and smiles weakly. She fiddles nervously with her bracelet. Isabel notices the nervous tic and takes a closer look at the ornament on Althea’s wrist. She find herself fascinated by the colours and reaches out to touch it with her finger tips.

“Where did you get this bracelet from? It’s beautiful.”

Althea takes one step back as if she’s been burned. Isabel looks up at her in surprise at the sudden reaction. “I’m sorry, Althea. Did I just say something to offend you?”

Althea shakes her head. “H-hindi. Sorry, I-I’m the one that’s being weird. Kasi, matagal na ‘tong gift to sa ‘kin… it’s a lucky charm.” (translation: “N-no. Sorry, I-I’m the one that’s being weird. Because this was a gift to me from long ago… it’s a lucky charm.”)

Isabel narrowed her eyes a little at this. Who had given this bracelet to Althea? It was obvious that it went beyond more than just an ordinary gift. She vows to break whatever hold this mystery gift-giver has on Althea. She brazenly steps forward and grabs Althea’s wrist and strokes the bracelet sensually.

“Lucky talaga siya, kasi here you are now, working with a star and about to experience something new.” (translation: “It really is lucky, because here you are now, working with a star and about to experience something new.”)

Althea is surprised by the forwardness, though she knows she really shouldn’t be, given Isabel’s reputation. But with Isabel determinedly looking into her eyes and the soft yet firm hold on her wrist, she feels strangely reassured and safe.

Isabel finds herself genuinely smiling when Althea doesn’t pull away. She looks into the woman’s big brown eyes and feels something stirring deep inside her brain but couldn’t work out what it was. She trails her thumb over the inside of Althea’s wrist one more time, briefly running over her thumping pulse point, before releasing her.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, Althea. Pag-usapan natin ang details then. I’m sure na pareho tayong mage-enjoy sa experience na ’to.” (translation: “I’ll be back tomorrow, Althea. Let’s discuss the details then. I’m sure this will be an enjoyable experience for the both of us.”)

Althea nods in silent agreement and watches Isabel walk out the door. She sighs and walks over to her seat and puts her head in her hands, trying to process what just happened. The door opens again and she looks up at the sound. Batchi has popped back into the room and the look on her face plainly said “you had better spill the goss!”. Althea sighed again. This was going to be a long afternoon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: The exclusive party! And an old enemy resurfaces.


End file.
